Post by ajk on Jun 26, 2014 20:56:40 GMT -5
JD explains that it's up to the court, and particularly the prime minister, to consolidate the power held by the powerful clans. No, Bangwon insists, "Joseon is the country of a king" just like Goryeo was. "It won't go your way," he grumbles, and says he'll oppose this even if his father won't. JD advises him to give up his political ambitions and just live quietly, But Bangwon obviously has no intention of doing that. And now they're threatening each other like schoolboys. Stop it, both of you.
Afterwards, at JD's house, Nam Eun warns JD not to take Bangwon lightly and to be very careful of his ideas about the powerful prime minister, because people could get the wrong idea. Then JD's son Jin enters with the volume that his father asked him to assemble. Narration tells us that the Joseongyeonggukjeon law book "was modeled after the Six Codes System of the Zhou Dynasty" and was tailored to the Goryeo dynasty: "a powerful central government; selection of able officials, stability of peoples' lives and increases of government wealth with a farmer-soldier system and balanced taxes. The principles it contained became the basis for the official code of law, Gyeonggukdaejeon." And the book explicitly stated the concept that the prime minister "has the actual power to rule."
Well of course this would cause an uproar. Bangwon and Banggwa and the other older princes head straight to their father to challenge it. But all they do is make him angry. They leave, and JD enters...with news that the Jurchens in the north (they had been working with the Jurchens to subjugate barbarians in the area) may be wavering on their commitment because the Ming emperor won't proclaim Seonggye king. JD also brings Seonggye a written appeal on another matter: it's a recommendation to transfer all privately held soldiers to the government. Seonggye doubts that the clans will agree to this and wants it postponed. And then he changes the subject and wants JD to explain himself about the powerful-prime-minister controversy. So JD does. The throne is passed down to family descendants, he explains, and "some can be ignorant and incapable and others can be tyrants." A prime minister is easier to change, "so he does his best to keep his position." LS thinks, and then points out that Lee In Im was a powerful prime minister (not saying he was a bad one but the implication is obvious). "Joseon puts ability first" JD responds; that's the difference." We will choose wise officials and have a better government, he says, and that will stabilize the country. But Seonggye is starting to realize that he was used by JD. Was that always your intention, since the first time you came to see me?" Yes, JD flatly admits. "I see. You wanted me to be a puppet. But I worked so hard without knowing that." JD tries to tell him he misunderstands but Seonggye tells him to leave without another word.
Now the older princes all go to the queen and urge her to find another teacher for Bangseok and replace JD. They think he has "impure thoughts" and is too dangerous to be teaching the crown prince. Even suggests to her that she needs to replace JD if she loves her son! Ugh. Then Bangseok starts to debate Bangwon--remarkably well for such a young boy. He's a little naive but holds his own in defending JD's goals and arguments. It frustrates Bangwon to the point where he tells the queen that JD has brainwashed the boy. Oops--he realizes he went too far and asks for forgiveness, but she tells them all to get out.
Afterwards: "You made mistake," Ha Ryun tells Bangwon. You should have played nice for now and waited for a better chance. Bangwon agrees; says Bangseok "caught me off guard." Anyway, right now the bigger issue is wither or not the king will officially accept JD's book of principles.
Evening: Seonggye is alone in his office, pacing back and forth, wondering just what he's gotten himself into. Later he sends a eunuch to JD's office, where JD is working late. The eunuch tells him the king wants to see him. But he adds, "I'm not sure you should go there." That's odd...
Yeah, maybe not! Seonggye is outside in the palace plaza, taking sword practice shredding up haysticks. JD shows up, give him credit. Seonggye glares. "A person higher than the king is here." Uh-oh..."You told an innocent country man you would make him king and made him sit on a bloody throne. Now you want a servant to rule?" JD doesn't waver. "I explained all the reasons." No deal, Seonggye answers, and orders JD to burn the book of principles. JD refuses, and even says he won't obey the king if the king is wrong. Amazing that Seonggye doesn't carve him up like a turkey right there on the spot...but then, incredibly, accepts JD's plan. "Do what you want and I'll support you." BUT! "Don't forget the promise you made to me: that people will live like human beings and the country will be one I can be proud of to Poeun." JD assures him that he'll keep the promise. But just for good measure Seonggye adds, "If you don't keep it, I will really kill you."
Evening: Bangwon gets word that there's going to be a formal military inspection at the Three Armies Headquarters tomorrow morning. And that attendance is required for all private armies in or near the capital. Bangwon realizes this is the beginning of JD's attempt to end the private armies completely.
Next morning, Three Armies Headquarters: JD is there, in a military uniform...surveying an empty field. Nobody showed up. Turns out all of the princes and provincial commanders met at Bangwon's house. Uh-oh. Then word arrives that a letter from the Ming emperor has been delivered to the palace. Uh-oh!
The letter says that five Jurchens were caught by Ming spying in the northern territories, and that the spies said they were following "Goryeo orders." Well that's baloney; we learn that there are some spies up there but they're not Jurchens. But the letter demands that Seonggye "send one of his sons to explain and beg for forgiveness." Seonggye goes bananas, understandably.
Council meeting to discuss this. They all suspect that this is retaliation for working with the Jurchens in the north, and that they simply want to hold a prince hostage. Lots of impassioned discussion about what to do: take a hard line or be subservient. Then JD says let's put our activities in the north on hold, and call back the real spies that are up there. But just temporarily, not permanently. And then he suggests sending Bangwon there! Well wouldn't that be convenient for him.
So JD goes to Seonggye and suggests that very thing. Argues it makes sense because Bangwon is the only prince who has met the emperor before. LS resists, thinking it will be Bangwon's death, but JD boldly tells him that "he has to disappear for the crown prince's position to be stable. The day might come when you will have to kill him yourself. Seonggye sighs; what a horrible situation for a father.
Evening: Rumors have reached Bangwon's house. Ha Ryun has an idea....
"What brings you here?" Bangwon is kneeling before his father. He volunteers to go! "I'm a bad son who gets in the way of the crown prince." But he has a request: don't let JD get rid of the private armies. It's how our family became strong, he says; "Losing that would be like losing our roots." Then he goes too far by bad-mouthing JD some more and calling him a traitor. Seonggye steps off his chair and sits down on the floor next to Bangwon. And hits him! "You fool! Can't you just keep quiet like the others?" It's not in anger, though; he's despondent at the prospect of losing him. "Can't you just keep quiet," he moans, hugging Bangwon and sobbing. And we see a flashback of Ha Ryun pitching his idea: "If you're going to have to go, volunteer. His Majesty is a benevolent person. He will forget all about grudges. And you can make plans for the future."
A day or two or three(?) later: Bangwon departs. He and JD trade some more trash-talk. Ugh. The smug little smile on JD's face suggests he doesn't think Bangwon will return alive.
Seonggye is hitting the wine hard, despairing over his son. Then Ha Ryun enters and reports that his commission has found a spot for the capital. A place called Muhak, near Hanyang.
JD and his allies hear of this and are frustrated because they expect it will interfere with their project of absorbing the private armies. They send Jo Jun and the Buddhist priest Muhak (name coincidence, I guess) to check it out. Muhak says it's very good topography-wise but Jo Jun says it's too small for a capital--which probably isn't true, it's just an argument to oppose the project.
A subsequent day: Officials led by Jo Jun are sitting-in outside the palace, protesting to the king inside about the change of capital. But inside Seonggye is looking over Ha Ryun's plans and proposals. He likes them and is impressed by Ha--enough to put him in charge of the entire project on the spot. Then JD barges in unannounced and uninvited. Begs Seonggye's forgiveness but then asks for a full council meeting to be called for the next day. Wants to deal with the capital question and not let it interfere with his own goals. "Let's decide right now."
Afterwards, at JD's house, Nam Eun warns JD not to take Bangwon lightly and to be very careful of his ideas about the powerful prime minister, because people could get the wrong idea. Then JD's son Jin enters with the volume that his father asked him to assemble. Narration tells us that the Joseongyeonggukjeon law book "was modeled after the Six Codes System of the Zhou Dynasty" and was tailored to the Goryeo dynasty: "a powerful central government; selection of able officials, stability of peoples' lives and increases of government wealth with a farmer-soldier system and balanced taxes. The principles it contained became the basis for the official code of law, Gyeonggukdaejeon." And the book explicitly stated the concept that the prime minister "has the actual power to rule."
Well of course this would cause an uproar. Bangwon and Banggwa and the other older princes head straight to their father to challenge it. But all they do is make him angry. They leave, and JD enters...with news that the Jurchens in the north (they had been working with the Jurchens to subjugate barbarians in the area) may be wavering on their commitment because the Ming emperor won't proclaim Seonggye king. JD also brings Seonggye a written appeal on another matter: it's a recommendation to transfer all privately held soldiers to the government. Seonggye doubts that the clans will agree to this and wants it postponed. And then he changes the subject and wants JD to explain himself about the powerful-prime-minister controversy. So JD does. The throne is passed down to family descendants, he explains, and "some can be ignorant and incapable and others can be tyrants." A prime minister is easier to change, "so he does his best to keep his position." LS thinks, and then points out that Lee In Im was a powerful prime minister (not saying he was a bad one but the implication is obvious). "Joseon puts ability first" JD responds; that's the difference." We will choose wise officials and have a better government, he says, and that will stabilize the country. But Seonggye is starting to realize that he was used by JD. Was that always your intention, since the first time you came to see me?" Yes, JD flatly admits. "I see. You wanted me to be a puppet. But I worked so hard without knowing that." JD tries to tell him he misunderstands but Seonggye tells him to leave without another word.
Now the older princes all go to the queen and urge her to find another teacher for Bangseok and replace JD. They think he has "impure thoughts" and is too dangerous to be teaching the crown prince. Even suggests to her that she needs to replace JD if she loves her son! Ugh. Then Bangseok starts to debate Bangwon--remarkably well for such a young boy. He's a little naive but holds his own in defending JD's goals and arguments. It frustrates Bangwon to the point where he tells the queen that JD has brainwashed the boy. Oops--he realizes he went too far and asks for forgiveness, but she tells them all to get out.
Afterwards: "You made mistake," Ha Ryun tells Bangwon. You should have played nice for now and waited for a better chance. Bangwon agrees; says Bangseok "caught me off guard." Anyway, right now the bigger issue is wither or not the king will officially accept JD's book of principles.
Evening: Seonggye is alone in his office, pacing back and forth, wondering just what he's gotten himself into. Later he sends a eunuch to JD's office, where JD is working late. The eunuch tells him the king wants to see him. But he adds, "I'm not sure you should go there." That's odd...
Yeah, maybe not! Seonggye is outside in the palace plaza, taking sword practice shredding up haysticks. JD shows up, give him credit. Seonggye glares. "A person higher than the king is here." Uh-oh..."You told an innocent country man you would make him king and made him sit on a bloody throne. Now you want a servant to rule?" JD doesn't waver. "I explained all the reasons." No deal, Seonggye answers, and orders JD to burn the book of principles. JD refuses, and even says he won't obey the king if the king is wrong. Amazing that Seonggye doesn't carve him up like a turkey right there on the spot...but then, incredibly, accepts JD's plan. "Do what you want and I'll support you." BUT! "Don't forget the promise you made to me: that people will live like human beings and the country will be one I can be proud of to Poeun." JD assures him that he'll keep the promise. But just for good measure Seonggye adds, "If you don't keep it, I will really kill you."
Evening: Bangwon gets word that there's going to be a formal military inspection at the Three Armies Headquarters tomorrow morning. And that attendance is required for all private armies in or near the capital. Bangwon realizes this is the beginning of JD's attempt to end the private armies completely.
Next morning, Three Armies Headquarters: JD is there, in a military uniform...surveying an empty field. Nobody showed up. Turns out all of the princes and provincial commanders met at Bangwon's house. Uh-oh. Then word arrives that a letter from the Ming emperor has been delivered to the palace. Uh-oh!
The letter says that five Jurchens were caught by Ming spying in the northern territories, and that the spies said they were following "Goryeo orders." Well that's baloney; we learn that there are some spies up there but they're not Jurchens. But the letter demands that Seonggye "send one of his sons to explain and beg for forgiveness." Seonggye goes bananas, understandably.
Council meeting to discuss this. They all suspect that this is retaliation for working with the Jurchens in the north, and that they simply want to hold a prince hostage. Lots of impassioned discussion about what to do: take a hard line or be subservient. Then JD says let's put our activities in the north on hold, and call back the real spies that are up there. But just temporarily, not permanently. And then he suggests sending Bangwon there! Well wouldn't that be convenient for him.
So JD goes to Seonggye and suggests that very thing. Argues it makes sense because Bangwon is the only prince who has met the emperor before. LS resists, thinking it will be Bangwon's death, but JD boldly tells him that "he has to disappear for the crown prince's position to be stable. The day might come when you will have to kill him yourself. Seonggye sighs; what a horrible situation for a father.
Evening: Rumors have reached Bangwon's house. Ha Ryun has an idea....
"What brings you here?" Bangwon is kneeling before his father. He volunteers to go! "I'm a bad son who gets in the way of the crown prince." But he has a request: don't let JD get rid of the private armies. It's how our family became strong, he says; "Losing that would be like losing our roots." Then he goes too far by bad-mouthing JD some more and calling him a traitor. Seonggye steps off his chair and sits down on the floor next to Bangwon. And hits him! "You fool! Can't you just keep quiet like the others?" It's not in anger, though; he's despondent at the prospect of losing him. "Can't you just keep quiet," he moans, hugging Bangwon and sobbing. And we see a flashback of Ha Ryun pitching his idea: "If you're going to have to go, volunteer. His Majesty is a benevolent person. He will forget all about grudges. And you can make plans for the future."
A day or two or three(?) later: Bangwon departs. He and JD trade some more trash-talk. Ugh. The smug little smile on JD's face suggests he doesn't think Bangwon will return alive.
Seonggye is hitting the wine hard, despairing over his son. Then Ha Ryun enters and reports that his commission has found a spot for the capital. A place called Muhak, near Hanyang.
JD and his allies hear of this and are frustrated because they expect it will interfere with their project of absorbing the private armies. They send Jo Jun and the Buddhist priest Muhak (name coincidence, I guess) to check it out. Muhak says it's very good topography-wise but Jo Jun says it's too small for a capital--which probably isn't true, it's just an argument to oppose the project.
A subsequent day: Officials led by Jo Jun are sitting-in outside the palace, protesting to the king inside about the change of capital. But inside Seonggye is looking over Ha Ryun's plans and proposals. He likes them and is impressed by Ha--enough to put him in charge of the entire project on the spot. Then JD barges in unannounced and uninvited. Begs Seonggye's forgiveness but then asks for a full council meeting to be called for the next day. Wants to deal with the capital question and not let it interfere with his own goals. "Let's decide right now."